Collected Precedents of the S.C.A.: Arabic

Name Precedents: Arabic

al-Jamal notes that "as a general rule, Arabic places the bynames (like al-Tayyib) at the end of the name, unless such are being used as an 'ism, a given name, which is not the case here.". The submitter will not accept major changes, so this name must be returned. In resubmitting, we suggest the form Mikha'il ibn Khalid ibn Ahmad al-Gharnatii al-Tayyib. [Mikha'il al-Tayyib ibn Khalid ibn Ahmad al-Tayyib al-Gharnatii, 05/04, R-West]

Shauna of Carrick Point

2004.05

Submitted as Shajarat ad-durral-Mãhdukht al-Zarqá, the phrase Shajarat ad-durr is the regnal name (not given name) of the first Sultana of the Bahri Mamluks, who came to power in 1246 upon their overthrow of the Ayyubid dynasty in Egypt. This is a type of name used to denote royalty; its use in an SCA name is a claim to rank. Furthermore, this particular regnal name appears to be unique, which also makes it inappropriate for registration.

The element al-Mãkdukht had several problems. First, al-Jamal states that Mãhdukht is a transcription error for M{a-}hdukht The name M{a-}hdukht is a Persian name; combining it with the Arabic al mixes Persian and Arabic in a single name phrase, in violation of RfS III.1.a. The byname al-Zarqá has a transcription error as well; the correct form is al-Zarqa'. In order to register the name, we have dropped the problematic elements and corrected the transcription of the remaining parts, giving M{a-}dukht al-Zarqa'. [M{a-}hdukht al-Zarqa',05/04, A-Trimaris]

François la Flamme

2004.03

The submitter requested authenticity for pre-11th C Persian. The submitted name, Ghalib al-Sami, is not a Persian name, though it is an authentic pre-11th C Arabic name. Siren observed "there were people with Arabic names living in Persia before the 11th century." Therefore, while this name is not an authentic pre-11th C Persian name, it is authentic for a person with an Arabic name living in pre-11th C Persia. [Ghalib al-Sami, 03/2004, A-Æthelmearc]

This name has a number of issues. The submitted name had the form [given name] [given name] bint [given name] [byname]. Two given names in an Arabic name has long been cause for return in the past:

... none of the Arabic-speaking peoples seems to have used double given names, and this practice has been grounds for return in the past (Nasr Hasan ibn Muhammad Abdullaziz, Calontir, 11/93 LoAR). (Talan Gwynek, LoAR October 1995 p. 17)

No evidence was found that Alma was used as a given name before 1600. In fact, no evidence was found that it is an Arabic name at all. As the submitter allows major changes, we have dropped this element in order to register this name.

Jumana or Jumanah was the name of a woman who was a contemporary of Muhammad. Names from this time were often used in medieval Arabic.

The patronymic particle Bint is not normally capitalized in names. We have made this change.

Noor or Nur, to use the transcription used in the rest of the name, was at best vanishingly rare in our period. However, Siren was able to present evidence sufficient to give the submitter the benefit of the doubt:

The name <Noor> or <Nur> 'light' is a modern name; in period, it was used in compound names including honorifics like <Nur al-Din>, Saladin's uncle, and names given to concubines, such as <Nur Jahan> 'light of the world' and <Nur Malal> 'light of the palace', names given to late period Mughul empresses. There are also suggestions that it may have been used as a name, as in the 11th century ruler of modern Ronda, in al-Andalus, <Abu Nur Hilal> (whose name can be found, for example at http://ellone-loire.net/obsidian/taifa.html.

Another example is found in 16th century Ethiopia: "In 1552 she married Emir Nur Ibn Mujadid, successor of Ahmed, seeing in him the best prospect of achieving her aim of avenging the death of Ahmed. Indeed in 1559 a battle was fought between Ibn Nur and Emperor Gelawdewos in Fatagar, at which the latter was killed and beheaded by the order of Del Wanbera according to some sources (Ibid, 78; Sweetman 1984, 29; Doresse 1967, 147)." (an article from a publication series by the Organization for Social Science Research in Eastern and Southern Africa http://www.ossrea.net/girr/no13/minale.htm. Given the use of <Abu Nur> and <ibn Nur>, the structure <bint Nur> should be registerable, though I'm unsure as to whether <Nur> (as opposed to <Nur X> was used as a given name in period.

al-Jamal was able to document the byname al-Zarqa':

Al-Zarqa' (again, the "a" in "al-" is not normally capitalized) is documented in period in the name of Warwar al-Zarqa', "A poetess who was probably the slave girl of Ja'far ibn Sulayman during the early 'Abbasid period; she was also a popular singer." (Dodge, Fihrist of al-Nadim, vol. 2, p. 1131)

As no evidence was found that Jumanah or bint Nur were in use in the 15th C, though al-Zarqa' almost certainly was, we were unable to make this name authentic for the submitter's desired time period. [Jumanah bint Nur al-Zarqa', 02/2004, A-Atlantia]

François la Flamme

2004.02

Listed on the LoI as Ruzbihan al-Junaydal-Razi, this name was submitted as Junaid Ruzbihan ar-Razi. In both forms, this name combined two elements used as given names with a single byname. As such, lacking evidence that two given names were used in either Persian or Arabic names in period, this name was not registerable.

Ruzbihan seems fine (well, as a Persian name), documented in the cyberegypt site noted in the LoI as Ruzbihan ibn Hajji Na'im al-Din Katib Mudhahhib, i.e., Ruzbihan the illuminator, son of Na'im al-Din the scribe (literally, Ruzbihan the son of the pilgrim Na'im al-Din the scribe, the illuminator).

Al-Junayd (which could also [b]e transliterated al-Junaid) is a laqab-style name element used as an ism, a given name. It is documented in Dodge, the Fihrist of al-Nadim, vol. 2, pp. 1025-1026, in the names of Ibn al-Junayd; al-Junayd ibn 'Abd al-Rahman; and in three other examples. As such, then the name as submitted in the LoI effectively uses two given names in a row, something that was not done in period Arabic names. "Both 'Inan and Nihlah are Arabic feminine given names, but there is no evidence that Arabic names were formed of two given names."(Elsbeth Anne Roth, LoAR February 2000, p. 16)

The only real problem I see with the name is the construction. I can make the following recommendations:

Restore the "i" to Junaid; as I noted above, the transliteration with an "i" should be as acceptable as that with a "y".

The registrable form that would come closest to what he originally submitted would be al-Junaid ibn Ruzbihan al-Razi.

The registrable form that would come closest to what was submitted in the LoI would be Ruzbihan ibn al-Junaid al-Razi.

The registrable form that would come closest to what the LoI believes (without confirming) would be acceptable if an element had to be dropped would be al-Junaid ibn al-Razi.

All that said, if the meaning "the warrior" is what he cares most about (as stated in the LoI), al-Junaid does not meet that requirement. The "army" of that name is not a literal one, but rather a spiritual. Still, it's what he submitted, and it's registrable in any of the forms I recommend above.

Crescent forwarded al-Jamal's commentary to the submitter, who replied that his preferred choice of these options was al-Junaid ibn al-Razi. We have made this change. [al-Junaid ibn al-Razi, 02/2004, A-Caid]

François la Flamme

2004.02

This name is being returned for various issues with this name. The submitter requested authenticity for 15th C Egypt.

Semeeah was documented from Da'ud ibn Auda's article "Arabic Women's Names" (http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/daud/arabicwomen.html). However, this article has been superceded by Da'ud's article "Period Arabic Names and Naming Practices" (http://www.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/names/arabic-naming2.htm). There are some names that appear in the "Arabic Women's Names" article that do not appear in the newer "Period Arabic Names and Naming Practices". Da'ud explained that these are names which he "was not able to find [...] again, and thus I cannot cite a source for them or vouch for their accuracy." As a result, we do not have evidence of Semeeah as an Arabic name during our period. Lacking such evidence, this name must be returned.

There is also an issue with the submitted element Qadir. Da'ud al-Jamal explains:

Qadir: was not documented in the LoI. As al-Qadir, the Omnipotent, is one of the 99 names of Allah, it is unlikely to be found as a given name in period, except in the form 'Abd al-Qadir, "servant of the Omnipotent".

Al-Aqsur: is not documented in the LoI, nor do I find in any of the usual sources, including such general - and modern - sources as Ahmed's A Dictionary of Muslim Names.

From this information, bint 'Abd al-Qadir is a reasonable byname. Lacking evidence supporting the element al-Aqsur as a period name element, it is not registerable. [Semeeah bint Qadir al-Aqsur, 02/2004, R-Atlantia]

François la Flamme

2003.11

Submitted as Zebeebah al-Kharqaa, the spelling of the given name has been changed to match the transcription of the byname. Questions were raised in commentary as to whether al-Kharqaa is a reasonable form meaning 'clumsy.' As the name is documented from Hans Wehr's Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic, a well-regarded dictionary of Arabic, we will give the submitter the benefit of the doubt. [Zebeeba al-Kharqaa, 11/2003, A-Meridies]

François la Flamme

2003.10

Submitted as Masala al-Raqq{a-}sa al-Dilhiyya, the elements raqq{a-}s and dilh{i-} were documented from A Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic, Third Printing, Hans Wehr, edited by J. Milton Cowan, MacDonald and Evans Ltd., London, 1980), p. 354 and p. 296 respectively. This source is not included in the Administrative Handbook, Appendix H, "Books That Do Not Require Photocopies to Laurel". As such, photocopies are required with this submission. As no photocopies were provided, these elements are not documented and this submission must be returned.

Since the source cited for these elements is a modern dictionary, there was concern that these elements, particularly dilh{i-}, may not be period forms. The College was able to provide documentation for al-Raqq{a-}sa. However no documentation was found to support al-Dilhiyya as a plausible byname in period. Lacking such evidence, al-Dilhiyya is not registerable. As the submitter allows major changes, we have dropped this element in order to register this name.

An additional issue noted by al-Jamal is that diacritical marks are not used throughout the name. They are included in the byname al-Raqq{a-}sa and omitted elsewhere. Diacritical marks must be used or omitted consistently. As they are omitted from the rest of the name, we have dropped from al-Raqq{a-}sa. [Masala al-Raqqasa, 10/2003, A-Atenveldt]

François la Flamme

2003.10

Submitted as Ruqayyah bint Rashid al-Zaki, the submitter requested that her name mean "the pure daughter of Rashid". The byname al-Zaki is the masculine form, and so refers to Rashid and not to Ruqayyah. The feminine form of this byname is al-Zakiyyah. We have changed the byname to the feminine form in order to match the submitter's desired meaning. [Ruqayyah bint Rashid al-Zakiyyah, 10/2003, A-Ansteorra] [Ruqayyah bint Rashid al-Zakiyyah, 10/2003, A-Ansteorra]

François la Flamme

2003.09

[...] René Grousset, The Empire of the Steppes: A History of Central Asia, translated from the French by Naomi Walford. This is the source described in the April 1999 return as "... good book for names ... not a good book for spelling." [...]

The form Al'altun is also documented from Grousset. Lacking evidence that Al'altun is a valid spelling, we have changed this to the documented Al-Altun in order to register this name. [Töregene Al-Altun, 09/2003, A-Outlands]

François la Flamme

2003.09

[...] This name was submitted as Benef{s,}eAr Rashid and was changed at Kingdom to modify the byname to a feminine form of the masculine byname al-Rashid. However, the changes made were not quite correct. al-Jamal explains:

The given name appears on the cited list as Benef{s,}e, rather than with the finial "a". [...]

My article does not show "al-Raschid" as a masculine cognomen; the form there is al-Rashid, without the "c". [...] Al-Rashida would be the expected feminine form in Arabic, but I do not know whether Turkish feminized names by the same method.

Based on this information, Benef{s,}e al-Rashida is a registerable form of this name. The submitter requested authenticity for Turkish. Lacking evidence that the Arabic byname al-Rashida would have been used in Turkish, this form is not authentic for the submitter's requested culture. [Benef{s,}a al-Raschida, 09/2003 LoAR, R-Atlantia]

François la Flamme

2003.08

Listed on the LoI as 'A'isha bint Rashid alAndalusi, this name appeared on the forms as A'ishah bint Rashid al Andalusi. She requested an authentic name for the Middle East.

There are a variety of different ways to transliterate Arabic into English. We register any of them, only requiring that a single transliteration system be used for the entire name. al-Jamal observed:

Common transliterations of the name of Muhammad's daughter include: 'A'isha A'isha, Ayisha, and Ayesha. A'ishah should be equally acceptable.

We have therefore returned the name to its submitted form.

As submitted, the byname al Andalusi says that Rashid is from al-Andalus, not A'ishah. If she is the one from al-Andalus, the correct form is al-Andalusiyyah. We have not made this change, as either meaning is acceptable. However, we have added a hyphen between the article and the byname, as it is generally used in transcriptions of Arabic. [A'ishah bint Rashid al-Andalusi, 08/2003 LoAR, A-Caid]

François la Flamme

2003.08

Listed on the LoI as Aminah al-Zarqua, the form and the documentation listed the byname as al-Zarqa. The submitted form of the given name and byname use different transliteration systems. When registering Arabic names, a single transliteration system must be used consistently throughout the name. Therefore, registerable forms of this name are Amina al-Zarqa and Aminah al-Zarqah. As the latter tranliteration retains the submitted spelling of the given name, we have used that form when registering this name. [Aminah al-Zarqah, 08/2003 LoAR, A-West]

François la Flamme

2003.08

No documentation was presented and none was found to support Johari as a name used in period. Further, no documentation was presented for the byname al-Noori at all. and the College found no evidence that it is a period byname. Lacking evidence that these name elements were used in period, this name is not registerable. [Johari al-Noori, 08/2003 LoAR, R-Atenveldt]

François la Flamme

2003.08

This name has the form [given name] [byname] [given name]. Lacking evidence that this construction is plausible in period, it is not registerable. al-Jamal describes the issues with this name:

Khalid is a well-documented period masculine given name, found in the names of Abu Khalid al-Khurasani; Abu Khalid ibn 'Amr ibn Khalid al-Wasiti; Khalid ibn Barmak, and a bunch of others.

Al-Adami is another documentably period name, found in the name of Abu Sa'id Sahl ibn Ziyad al-Adami (from the Fihrist of al-Nadim, a translation of a 10th Century source, vol. 2, p. 1088).

'Abd al-Aziz, "servant of the Almighty", is another well-documented period name, with many, many examples.

However, there is a problem with the grammar. The form here is <given name> + <byname> + <given name>, a form not found in Arabic naming practices. The smallest change that I can recommend (and it's not what I would call a minor change) would be to make Khalid the son of 'Abd al-Aziz and to move the byname to the usual terminal position: Khalid ibn 'Abd al-Aziz al-Adami. [...] The other change that might be made, which is also a major change, would be to drop 'Abd al-Aziz, making him Khalid al-Adami.

As the submitter does not allow major changes, we are unable to make either of the changes suggested by al-Jamal in order to register this name. [Khalid al-Adami 'Abd al-Aziz, 08/2003 LoAR, R-Caid]

François la Flamme

2003.08

This name has several problems. Sharif was documented as a given name found in Azieza Hamid's The Book of Muslim Names. However, no evidence could be found that Sharif was used as a given name in period.

Additionally, Sharif is a title. Al-Jamal states "[t]he title sharif is used by the real descendants of the Prophet Muhammad through his daughter Fatima's son Hasan..." RfS VI.1 states in part:

Titles like Earl and Duke generally may not be used as Society names, even if the title is the submitters legal name. Names documented to have been used in period may be used, even if they were derived from titles, provided there is no suggestion of territorial claim or explicit assertion of rank. For example, Regina the Laundress is acceptable but Regina of Germany is not.

In any resubmission, evidence must be presented that Sharif was used as a given name in period. Lacking such evidence, it is not registerable as a given name.

The forms asserted that Shereif was the submitter's legal name, but no documentation of this fact was included as required when submitting a name element under the Legal Name Allowance. Were such documentation provided,
Shereif would not be registerable, even under the Legal Name Allowance. Shereif is a variant of Sharif and so is a name that was a title in period, not a personal name. As such, it falls into the same category as Earl and Duke, noted in RfS VI.1 cited above, and is not registerable.

In any resubmission containing a form of Sharif, evidence must be presented that Sharif was used as a given name in period, or it may not be registered, even under the Legal Name Allowance in the form Sherief.

As submitted, this name had two given names: Sharif (which was submitted as a given name rather than a title) and 'Abd al-Salam. No evidence has been found for the use of two given names in Arabic. Lacking such evidence, two given names are not registerable in an Arabic name. As the submitter does not allow major changes, we cannot drop one of the given names in order to register this name. [Sharif 'Abd al-Salam ibn Salah, 08/2003 LoAR, R-Caid]

François la Flamme

2003.08

The documentation provided for this name on the LoI was:

The Book of Indian Names by Raja Ram Mehotra is the source of the following information, none of which is dated: p.7 At-tar is a Kashmiri family name based on the Persian or Urdu equivalent of the traditional occupation of herbalist cum scent dealer. p.110 Indira is one of the personal names attached to the goddess Lakshmi. p.67 -bai is a female suffix attached to the given name among the Parsis.

This information does not support the use of -bai in period or that a women's name in period would have been taken from the name of goddess. Lacking such evidence, Indirabai is not registerable. Lacking evidence that Indira was used in period as a regular woman's name, it is not registerable.

The College found information regarding the submitted byname At-tar:

'attar is an Arabic word for "perfumer". It appears at least as early as the 13th Century in the name of a man we know only as ibn al-'Attar, who composed popular stories in the late 9th or early 10th Century. (Dodge, Fihrist of al-Nadim, vol. 2, p. 966) The transliteration of the submitted form looks "odd" to me; I suspect (without being able to prove it) that it is modern at best. [al-Jamal]

The cited <At-tar> is clearly derived from an Arabic occupational byname which can be written without diacritical marks as <al-'Attar> 'the perfume-maker." Arabic bynames were brought into Mughal India in late period, and so ought to be registerable within an Indian name context, with at most a weirdness. [Siren]

Lacking evidence that the form At-tar is a plausible period form, it is not registerable. [Indirabai At-tar, 08/2003 LoAR, R-West]

François la Flamme

2003.07

Listed on the LoI as Ka'im ibnal-Batin, this name was originally submitted as Ka'im Ya Batin and changed at Kingdom, per commentary from al-Jamal, because Ya Batin is an Arabic phrase meaning 'O Hidden'. In a name, Batin could be used in a masculine given name 'Abd al-Batin 'servant of the Hidden'. The corresponding byname would be ibn 'Abd al-Batin 'son of 'Abd al-Batin'. Due to a typographical error in al-Jamal's internal commentary (on which the LoI form of this name was based), 'Abd was omitted from the byname. We have made this correction. [Ka'im ibn 'Abd al-Batin, 07/2003 LoAR, A-Artemisia]

François la Flamme

2003.04

The byname Farabi was documented as a modern rendering of the Arabic byname al-Farabi dated to A. D. 950/951. al-Jamal found information regarding this byname:

Abu Nasr Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Farabi (cited in the Fihrist of al-Nadim, vol. 2, p. 985), was "the distinguished philosopher and scholar of Greek learning, who lived at Baghdad but died at Damascus, 950/951, when 80 years old." The period form of his byname is al-Farabi; further, it is the masculine form. It would not have been used in Arabic in period without the article ("al-"), and it would not have been used in this form by a female (the feminine form would have been al-Farabiyya(h)) [...].

I don't trust the form (Abunasr Farabi) given by the website as the name for the Persian musician in pre-Islamic times; the name sounds more Arabic than Persian (the two languages are in fact fairly distinct), and their respective naming practices were dissimilar. As only one example, the Arabic form of the Persian Omar Khayyam's name is 'Umar al-Khayyami. Nor do I believe that Persian used abu ("father of") before the Arab conquest. Because of all this, I believe that the form of the name cited here, Abunasr Farabi, is a modern rather than a period form.

Siren also found information regarding this byname:

[...] <Abu Nasr> or <Abunasr>, as the website gives, is a name that is Arabic in form and content, not Persian, and <al-Farabi> the same - it also appears to be a locative (from Farab in Turkistan), and so would need to be feminized.

From this information, al-Farabiyya and al-Farabiyyah would be feminine forms of this Arabic byname appropriate for the mid-10th C. If the submitted byname Farabi were corrected to a period feminine form, then this name would combine a 10th C Arabic byname with a given name documented as a modern English rendering of a 4th C B.C. given name. [Roxana Farabi, 04/2003 LoAR, R-East]

François la Flamme

2003.01

The byname bint al-Farees was submitted as meaning 'daughter of the horseman' with Farees being a hypothetical variant of Faris 'horseman'. However, Faris is listed as an Arabic form of 'knight' in "The List of Alternate Titles as Approved by the College of Arms" (http://www.sca.org/heraldry/titles.html). Therefore, this byname also means 'daughter of the knight' and violates RfS VI.1: "Names containing titles, territorial claims, or allusions to rank are considered presumptuous." [Aliyah bint al-Farees, 01/2003 LoAR, R-Caid]

François la Flamme

2003.01

Submitted as Scheherazade al-Zahir, Scheherazade is her legal given name.

The submitted form of the byname al-Zahir is a masculine form. Arabic descriptive bynames must match the gender of the given name. As the name Scheherazade is feminine, we have changed the byname to the feminine form al-Zahira in order to register this name. [Scheherazade al-Zahira, 01/2003 LoAR, A-East]

François la Flamme

2003.01

Submitted as Judur Amat al-Wahid, this name included only two feminine given names (Judur and Amat al-Wahid), which has previously been reason for return. al-Jamal explains:

"Devotional" names like 'Abd al-X and Amat al-X are used even today (the founder of modern Saudi Arabia was 'Abd al-Aziz ibn Sa'ud) as or in place of an 'ism, a given name. As a consequence, the submitted name here effectively strings two names together, in a way that does not appear to have been done in Arabic. "None of the Arabic-speaking peoples seems to have used double given names, and this practice has been grounds for return in the past (Nasr Hasan ibn Muhammad Abdullaziz, Calontir, 11/93 LoAR)." (Ja'mala Junaida al-Badawi, 10/95 p. 17) The simplest and least intrusive fix would be to make her the daughter of someone called servant of the Unique, or Judur bint 'Abd al-Wahid.

As she allows any changes, we have changed this name to the form suggested by al-Jamal in order to register this name. Lacking evidence that matronymic bynames (bynames indicating a mother's name) were used in Arabic, they have previously been ruled unregisterable. Therefore, Judur bint 'Abd al-Wahid, meaning 'Judur daughter of [a man named] 'Abd al-Wahid', is registerable, whereas Judur bint Amat al-Wahid, meaning 'Judur daughter of [a woman named] Amat al-Wahid', would not be. [Judur bint 'Abd al-Wahid, 01/2003 LoAR, A-Calontir]

François la Flamme

2002.12

Given the level of contact between their cultures, a name that includes Persian and Arabic name elements is registerable with a weirdness. [Shirin al-Adawiya, 12/2002, A-Atenveldt]

François la Flamme

2002.11

Khalisa was documented as an undated Arabic feminine name meaning "pure, true, real" from Salahuddin Ahmed, A Dictionary of Muslim Names. Metron Ariston found evidence of Khalisa as a place name in period:

I'd really like to see some evidence for the use of the given name as a given name in period since it was definitely used as a locative name in our period, being effectively a capital of Muslim Sicily at one point: "In 325/937, Khalid bin Ishaq, the governor of Sicily laid foundation of a new city, called Khalisa, near Palermo. Its structure and design almost resembled the city of Mahdiya. The chiefs of Sicily and other officials mostly lived in Khalisa, where most of the administration was controlled." (ismaili.net/histoire/history05/history525.html). This locative usage appears fairly common in the Muslim world even today since al-Khalisa appears not only in lists of Palestinian villages destroyed in 1948 (www.badil.org/Statistics/1948/pal48_safad.htm), but also as a village in the Baghdad Province of Iraq (www.iraqwaterproject.com/facilities/WaterPlantChoices.htm).

Many Arabic given names came into use in the modern era. Since Khalisa has been shown to be a place name in period, there is no reason to assume that its use as a given name was not derived from the placename in modern times. Therefore, the evidence that Khalisa is a modern name is insufficient to suggest that it is plausible as a feminine given name in period. Barring such evidence, Khalisa is not registerable. [Khalisa bint Muthanna, 11/2002, R-Artemisia]

François la Flamme

2002.09

Listed on the LoI as F{a-}'izah al-Zaqra, we have corrected the typo in the byname. The given name was submitted as Faizeh and changed at Kingdom to a form documented from a modern name book, as no documentation could be found for Faizeh. The form Fa'iza is dated to period in Juliana de Luna's article "Jewish Women's Names in an Arab Context: Names from the Geniza of Cairo" (http://www.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/names/geniza.html). Fa'izah is an alternate transliteration of Fa'iza. We have added the glottal stop to the end of the byname, al-Zarqa', for consistency, as it is included in the given name. [Fa'izah al-Zarqa', 09/2002 LoAR, A-Caid]

François la Flamme

2002.09

Submitted as Fatimah al-Zarga' al-Rakkasa, we have corrected the typo in the byname al-Zarqa'. When registering names from languages that do not use the Roman alphabet, a consistent transliteration system must be used throughout the name. Therefore, we have modified the second byname to the form al-Rakkasah so that it uses the same transliteration system as the given name Fatimah. [Fatimah al-Zarqa' al-Rakkasah, 09/2002 LoAR, A-Caid]

François la Flamme

2002.09

No documentation was provided and none was found that Sala{-}h is plausible as a masculine given name in period. al-Jamal found information regarding this name:

Schimmel gives two citations for the use of Salah in a name: one is the laqab of Yusuf ibn Ayyub, Salah al-Din (Saladin). The other, with Salah as a given name, is 'Abd as-Sabur Salah, who died in 1982. Hamid, of course, is entirely undated. al-Ja'fari does not give the name at all. Ahmed gives Salah, but the only citation to a real use of it is that of Salah-ud-Din (Saladin). Qazi gives Salaah, but, again, is completely undated. The Fihrist of al-Nadim, a period source, does not give any form of Salah. The sources which give dates all indicate that this name is modern. [...] [I]t seems most unlikely as a period name to me, based on the evidence in all of the sources at hand.

Given that all the period citations use this forms of Salah only in a laqab, and lacking evidence that it is plausible as a period given name, it is not registerable as a given name. [Sala{-}h of Akaray, 09/2002 LoAR, R-Meridies]

François la Flamme

2002.09

This name is being returned for lack of documentation that the name elements are period names and for use of a matronymic in an Arabic name.

The notation used in the LoI to represent this name did not accurately represent the name elements and did not follow standard notation used by the College. We can do no better than to quote al-Jamal in his analysis of the issues with the LoI's notation:

The use of curly braces in the header name and documentation is confusing, and makes it very hard to determine, without direct access to the documentation, exactly what spelling/transliteration is being used and what the marks are supposed to be. I am assuming that "a{-}" means that there is a horizontal line over the preceding "a", and that "a{'}" means that there is an accent over the "a" (though this sounds unlikely for the source cited. I do not remember that Qazi uses accents)

[Ah, back and home and with Qazi in front of me, the name there is Saa'iqa, not Saáiqa.] Please, we developed the system of curly braces in a systematic fashion in order to allow us to use them even on systems and with typewriters/word processing systems, etc. that did not print the multinational characters. To use another system, or to misuse the system, is only confusing. There are several websites that discuss the system of curly braces: http://www.grt-net.com/Heraldry/Names/Da_ud_Notation/da_ud_notation.html or http://www.scadian.net/heraldry/daud.html are only two examples. The initial implementation list, and the rationale behind it, were published in the Cover Letter with the February 1996 LoAR.

No documentation was provided that either name element in this name was used as a name in period. al-Jamal summarizes the issues with these name elements:

An{a-}n: The name actually given in Hamid is 'An{a-}n, with the hamza, a glottal stop, before the initial "A". The name also appears in al-Ja'fari's Muslim Names. I do not find it in any other of my sources. It also needs to be remembered that Hamid, al-Ja'fari, Qazi and, except where he gives dates, Ahmed, are all modern "what to name your baby in Muslim" books. The College has often accepted undated names from these sources owing to a lack of more comprehensive period sources, but their use must be tempered with the knowledge that the majority of names in them are modern and not period.

Saa'iqa: is found on p. 45 (#158) of Qazi. It is found in no other source, not even Hamid or al-Ja'fari. This is more of a problem, if only because of all the sources available, Qazi is probably one of the least dependable, and his transliteration system tends to be idiosyncratic, at best. To use a consistent transliteration system throughout the name, this should be S{a-}'iqa.

In the case of 'An{a-}n, the fact that it is listed in multiple sources and is not explicitly identified as modern might be enough to give the submitter the benefit of the doubt on that name element. However, in the case of S{a-}'iqa, it is found in only one source, and that being one of the least dependable. Lacking other supporting evidence, this single reference is not sufficient support for this name element.

However, the largest problem with this name is the use of a matronymic byname, which has previously been cause for return. al-Jamal found relevent precendent:

But the biggest difficulty with this name is that S_'iqa is a listed as a feminine given name in Qazi, and Arabic does not use metronymics. "Both 'Inan and Nihlah are Arabic feminine given names, but there is no evidence that Arabic names were formed of two given names. As they did not use metronymics we could not fix this by making the second name a metronymic." (Elsbeth Anne Roth, LoAR February 2000, p. 16) "It still does not appear that metronymics based on personal names were used in Arabic-speaking cultures. Laurel has found just one example (apart from the inherently exceptional 'Isa ibn Maryam 'Jesus son of Mary'), and Ensign has one example of a metronymic apparently based on the mother's occupational byname. This latter discovery indicates the desirability of further research, but for now the overwhelming weight of cultural and onomastic evidence argues against overturning the precedents against registering Arabic metronymics." [The name was returned.] (Sadira bint Raya al-Asiri, LoAR May 1996, p. 23)

[Ana{-}n bint Saa{'} iqa, 09/2002 LoAR, R-Meridies]

François la Flamme

2002.08

Submitted as al-Zarqa'Kanz Chaninaibint Ibrahim ibn Rashid, there were multiple problems with the submitted form of this name. al-Jamal explains:

The trouble, of course, with pulling a bunch of name elements out of various sources to match a basic construction from another language (here, the English "the blue-eyed maiden Chaninai") is that the grammar will be, in all likelihood, incorrect. Such is the case here. The preceding "byname" is unlike anything I've ever seen in Arabic usage.

As a general rule, descriptive bynames of this sort follow the 'ism rather than precede it.

al-Zarqa', already being in the feminine (the masculine is azrak, see Jaschke's English-Arabic Conversational Dictionary, pp. 312, 371), has all the gender specificity needed or used in Arabic. To say "the feminine blue-eyed maiden" is redundant; I doubt very much you'd find it in English. I can say for certain I've never seen it in Arabic.

The genealogical part of the name, bint Ibrahim ibn Rashid, is non-problematical, I believe even with the Aramaic given. It is not uncommon, for example, to find Hebrew names in Muslim Spain using the Arabic patronymic particles.

I could support registering the name as Chaninai al-Zarqa' bint Ibrahim ibn Rashid.

As the submitter allows any changes, we have changed this name to the form suggested by al-Jamal in order to register this name. [Chaninai al-Zarqa' bint Ibrahim ibn Rashid, 08/2002, A-Atenveldt]

François la Flamme

2002.07

Mu'alim, which the submitter intended to mean 'teacher', is listed as an Arabic form of Master, in the form Mu'allim, in "The List of Alternate Titles as approved by the College of Arms" (http://www.sca.org/heraldry/titles.html). al-Jamal explains:

Mu'allim is a restricted title, the Arabic equivalent of master. (That it also has the connotation of "teacher" was a bonus to those of us who researched the Arabic alternate titles list.)

Therefore, Mu'Alim (like Master) is a restricted title and may not be registered as part of an SCA name. [Mu'Alim Rami Kathoum ibn Abdul Majeed, 07/2002, R-Atenveldt]

François la Flamme

2002.07

Mu'allimah, which the submitter intended to mean 'teacher', is listed in the form Mu'allima (an alternate transliteration) as an Arabic form of Mistress in "The List of Alternate Titles as approved by the College of Arms" (http://www.sca.org/heraldry/titles.html). al-Jamal explains:

Mu'allima is a restricted title, the feminine Arabic equivalent of mistress. (That it also has the connotation of "teacher" was a bonus to those of us who researched the Arabic alternate titles list.)

Therefore, Mu'allimah (like Mistress) is a restricted title and may not be registered as part of an SCA name. [Mu'Alimah Ramia Jameela Ghafoor, 07/2002, R-Atenveldt]

François la Flamme

2002.07

No documentation was provided and none was found by the College that al-Rasheega is a plausible period byname. The LoI documented Ras{i-}q as a modern masculine given name, Rashiq as a period masculine given name, and Ras{i-}qah as a modern feminine given name. This documentation does not address the use of al-Rasheega as a period byname. al-Jamal explained the issues with this construction:

Al-Rasheega is more problematical. She has submitted no evidence that the alternate spelling (and pronunciation) is in any way reasonable. (It may very well be, but we've been given no reason to believe so.) Neither has any evidence been submitted that Rashiqa is one of the category of Arabic names which may be used either alone or as a byname with the article al ("the"). In fact, I do not find any such evidence. Nor can I find "graceful" in any of my English-Arabic dictionaries. ("Grace", as in "favor", yes, but not "graceful", and the root is entirely different.) I think we need additional documentation for the propriety of al-Rashiqa before we register it.

Lacking evidence that al-Rasheega is a plausible period byname, it is not registerable. [Maysun al-Rasheega, 07/2002, R-Meridies]

François la Flamme

2002.07

No documentation was provided in the LoI for the element Ghafoor and the College found none. Lacking documentation that this element is plausible as part of a period name, it is not registerable. [Mu'Alimah Ramia Jameela Ghafoor, 07/2002, R-Atenveldt]

François la Flamme

2002.07

al-Jamal provided commentary regarding other issues with this name:

Abdul Majeed is more usually transliterated 'Abd al-Majid.

[Mu'Alim Rami Kathoum ibn Abdul Majeed, 07/2002, R-Atenveldt]

François la Flamme

2002.07

al-Jamal provided commentary regarding other issues with this name:

Finally, the name is not constructed as names were in period. Kathoum ibn 'Abd al-Majid al-Rami (assuming that rami can be documented) would be the expected form. The submitted form is unlike period names (or modern, so far as I can see) in structure and grammar.

Lacking evidence that a byname would precede a given name in this manner in a period Arabic name, this construction is not registerable. [Mu'Alim Rami Kathoum ibn Abdul Majeed, 07/2002, R-Atenveldt]

François la Flamme

2002.07

An additional issue is that this name uses inconsistent transliteration. Al-Jamal wrote:

Okay, first off, either drop the final "h" from Hameedah (which we can't do if she's applying the legal name allowance, which only permits the exact legal name) or add it to Farisa and Ramia. "Submitted as Khadijah bint Mika'il al-Zarqa, it combines two different forms of transliteration. We have changed the spelling of the byname to make the entire name consistent." (Elsbeth Anne Roth, LoAR September 2000, p. 12)

[Farisa Ramia Hameedah bint Kathoum, 07/2002, R-Atenveldt]

François la Flamme

2002.07

al-Jamal provided commentary regarding other issues with this name:

Finally, the name is not constructed as names were in period. Hussein ibn Kathoum al-Rami (were all of the elements documented) would be the expected period form; Hussein al-Rami ibn Kathoum (with the same caveat) might also be registrable. But the submitted form is unlike period names (or modern, so far as I can see) in structure and grammar.

Lacking evidence that a byname would precede a given name in this manner in a period Arabic name, this construction is not registerable. [Rami Hussein ibn Kathoum, 07/2002, R-Atenveldt]

François la Flamme

2002.07

al-Jamal provided commentary regarding another issue with this name:

Finally, the name is not constructed as names were in period. Hameedah bint Kathoum al-Ramiah (were all of the elements documented) would be the expected period form; Hameedah al-Ramiah bint Kathoum (the same caveat) might also be registrable. But the submitted form is unlike period names (or modern, so far as I can see) in structure and grammar.

Lacking evidence that a byname would precede a given name in this manner in a period Arabic name, this construction is not registerable. [Farisa Ramia Hameedah bint Kathoum, 07/2002, R-Atenveldt]

François la Flamme

2002.07

The element Rami was documented on the LoI as follows: "The Arabic word rama/ramy means 'to shoot' or 'to fire' (pp. 360-361, A Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic, Arabic-English, Hans Wehr, McDonald and Evans Ltd., London, reprinted 1980); I am trusting the submitter on this, as he was raised and educated in Iraq, and Arabic is his first language." Unfortunately, knowledge of a modern language does not necessarily imply a knowledge of the same language in period. As a result, a simple statement by a native speaker has not been sufficient documentation for a number of years. One precedent that outlines the issue is:

Most of us wouldn't trust the average English-speaker to get Early Modern English correct (witness the number of people who have trouble understanding Shakespeare!); anything earlier is even more unlikely. And there is no reason to believe that English is peculiar in this. We have no more cause to trust a modern German speaker's knowledge of Middle High German than to trust a modern English speaker's knowledge of Middle English. Native speakers of English submitting English names frequently 'know' that they are correct -- even when they are altogether wrong. Without sufficient information with which to judge the reliability of the source, or the background and training of the speaker, we cannot assume any special knowledge about period naming practice or grammar. When the documentation boils down to "because I said so", it cannot be accepted on its face. [6/94c, p.3]

Lacking documentation that Rami would have been used in an Arabic byname in period, it is not registerable. [Mu'Alim Rami Kathoum ibn Abdul Majeed, 07/2002, R-Atenveldt]

François la Flamme

2002.07

Farisa, which the submitter intended to mean 'horsewoman', is the feminine form of Faris, which is listed as an Arabic form of Knight in "The List of Alternate Titles as approved by the College of Arms" (http://www.sca.org/heraldry/titles.html). Therefore, Farisa (like Knight) is a restricted title and may not be registered as part of an SCA name. [Farisa Ramia Hameedah bint Kathoum, 07/2002, R-Atenveldt]

François la Flamme

2002.07

The element Kathoum, used in the byname ibn Kathoum, was submitted as the father's legal given name. The Legal Name Allowance only applies to elements of the submitter's own name. At the same time as this submission, the submitter's father submitted an Arabic name using Kathoum as his given name via the Legal Name Allowance. (That submission is returned this month for other issues.) The Grandfather Clause allows elements of immediate family members to be used in the same manner and exactly the same spelling as in the registered name regardless of the current registerability of that element, so long as no new violations of the Rules for Submissions exist in the new name that did not exist in the registered name. In Arabic, given names used in a patronymic byname have the same case as given names used in given name positions, so the spelling of Kathoum used in a patronymic byname would not change from the spelling Kathoum used as a given name. Therefore, if the submitter's father registers Kathoum as the given name in his SCA name, the submitter may register ibn Kathoum as an Arabic byname in his SCA name. Since Kathoum is a modern Arabic masculine given name, the byname ibn Kathoum complies with RfS III.1.a, which requires linguistic consistency in a byname. [Rami Hussein ibn Kathoum, 07/2002, R-Atenveldt]

François la Flamme

2002.06

No submission history was included in the LoI entry for the current submission. The submitter has had multiple name resubmissions. A summary of the submission history (as required by the Administrative Handbook, section V.B.2.d) would have helped the College research this issue. Al-Jamal found returns for previous forms of this name in the LoARs of May 1999 and December 1995. As the return texts were substantial, we will not repeat them here, though both are relevent to the current submission.

Durr was submitted as "a word meaning 'pearls' which has been used in bynames". Evidence that a name element has been used in bynames does not address whether it is appropriate as an 'ism or given name. No evidence was provided and the College found none that Durr is plausible as a Arabic masculine given name in period. Lacking such evidence, it is not registerable as a given name.

The submitter has been trying for a number of years to register a locative byname in Arabic based on his group's name, Barony of the Hidden Mountain. He has attempted to document his byname as a locative byname based on an Arabic placename because of the policy that names of SCA branches are only automatically registerable in their registered form. This policy was recently upheld with this ruling:

[returning Armando de la Rama de Mil Ojos] This submission ... translates the name of his group into Spanish. Names of registered extant SCA groups are only automatically registerable in the language in which they are actually registered. (Jaelle of Armida, LoAR July 1997, p. 15)

The major problem in the current submission is that no documentation was provided, and the College found none, that the underlying placename in this locative byname is plausible as a period placename in Arabic. In order to support a constructed locative byname, several steps need to be addressed. First, the placename that the locative byname will be based upon needs to be documented as a plausible placename in period. The byname min al-Jabal al-Mukhfi was submitted with the intended meaning 'of the hidden mountain'. Documentation was provided that the phrase min al-Jabal al-Mukhfi is grammatically correct in modern Arabic and means 'from the mountain of the concealer' or 'the mountain that hides [itself]'. However, that the phrase is grammatically correct as a modern Arabic phrase, does not address its use as a period Arabic byname. Lacking evidence that this phrase is plausible as a period Arabic byname, it is not registerable.

Additionally, as stated in the December 1995 return, "[t]he preposition min 'from, out of' is not used in Arabic names." No evidence was provided in the current submission to contradict this point. Lacking evidence that min was used in period Arabic names, it is not registerable.

What is needed to construct an Arabic locative byname referring to a hypothetical location is the following:

First, an Arabic placename needs to be constructed according to period Arabic patterns of usage for placenames. The documentation for this constructed placename needs to include citations of period placenames in Arabic that show parallel constructions.

Secondly, this placename needs to be incorporated into a locative byname. We have an example of the latter, which the submitter may find useful: the city of Cordoba, which in Arabic is Qurtaba. A persion who wished to be known as 'of/from Cordoba' would literally be 'the Cordoban'. This byname would take the form al-Qurtubi in a man's name and al-Qurtubiyya in a woman's name. (Examples taken from Juliana de Luna's article "Andalusian Names: Arabs in Spain", http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/juliana/andalusia/. The Arabic form of Cordoba is found in Ahmed's A Dictonary of Muslim Names (pp. 318-319), courtesy of al-Jamal.) [Durr min al-Jabal al-Mukhfi, 06/2002, R-Æthelmearc]

François la Flamme

2002.04

Submitted as 'Ijliyah al-Qurtabiyah, the byname was a submitted as a theorized locative byname referring to Cordoba. Juliana de Luna's article "Andalusian Names: Arabs in Spain" (http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/juliana/andalusia/) lists the feminine form of this locative byname al-Qurtubiyya, dating this name to the time period 700 to 1200. As this provides documentation for this construction, we have the byname to this form, adding the 'h' to match the transliteration system used for the given name. ['Ijliyah al-Qurtubiyyah, 04/2002, A-Caid]

François la Flamme

2002.03

This name was originally submitted as Aminah bint Mujelid Kitab. The byname, intended to mean 'the book-binder's daughter', was changed at kingdom on the advice of Sion Andreas to correct the grammar:

The word for bookbinding is "tajliid al-kutub". Kutub is the plural of kitaab [...] The word tajliid is the nominal form of the Form II verb jallada.

Therefore, Mujallid al-Kutub is a phrase constructed to have the meaning 'bookbinder'. Al Jamal found that a word meaning 'bookbinder' already exists:

Elias' English-Arabic Dictionary Romanized (Edward E. Elias, 3rd ed.), p. 15, under "bind", gives megal'lid for "bookbinder". And in Jaschke's English-Arabic Conversational Dictionary (Richard Jaschke, Hippocrene Books, New York, 1987), p. 165, under "bookbinder" gives mjellid as the Syrian form and megal'lid as the Egyptian form of "bookbinder". I'd recommend modifying the name to Aminah bint al-Megal'lid (pronounced, roughly, ah-MEE-nah bint ahl-meh-JAHL-lid) for the desired meaning, using the shorter defined term rather than the longer construction for the patronym.

Occupational bynames used in patronymic constructions are well documented. A byname with this meaning is registerable since bookbinding is a period occupation. As an Arabic word meaning 'bookbinder' has been found and it does not match the constructed phrase, this name is registerable as Aminah bint al-Megal'lid. We would have made this change. However, the submitter did not allow major changes, and changing the byname from Mujallid al-Kutub to al-Megal'lid is dramatic enough that it is a major change. Therefore, we must return this name.

The submitter also requested authenticity for "1100 Middle East". Since no documentation was found dating megal'lid, we do not know if it is authentic for her desired time period. [Aminah bint Mujallid al-Kutub, 03/2002, R-Æthelmearc]

François la Flamme

2002.02

Nasrin was documented as a Persian undated feminine given name in Gandhi and Husain, The Complete Book of Muslim and Parsi Names. The LoI proposes the use of Nasrin as follows:

The submitter notes that the word Nasrin is the name of several flowers (two species of rose, rosa glandulifera and rosa alba; and a jonquil), according to Gandhi and Husain, op. cit.. The place name Nasirin is constructed, based on the examples Homs, Tus, and Tiz (found on a map from Atlas of World) which words are found in Gandhi and Husain, op. cit. as meaning the ephedra plant (among other meanings); new leaf or young grass (spelled Tizh); and a white mulberry. This appears to substantiate that this made up place name is formed in accordance with period practice for place names (per RFS II.2).

This documentation gives no indication of what language Homs, Tus, and Tiz exist in. Also, there is no documentation that these words were the names of places in period or even were used in a language in period. This information would be necessary to support a hypothetical place name Nasrin. Additionally, if support was found for Nasrin as a place name in Persian, it would not be registerable in the form al-Nasriniyya, since it uses Arabic construction. RfS III.1.a requires linguistic consistency in a name phrase. For al-Nasriniyya to be registerable, Nasrin needs to be documented as a place name in Arabic. [Khalila al-Nasiriniyya, 02/02, R-Caid]

François la Flamme

2002.02

Keshvar was documented from a Web site titled "Zoroastrian names" (http://www.avesta.org/znames.htm). The names on this site need to be used with care. On his "Medieval Names Archives" website, Arval Benicoeur includes an explanation of the sources for the "Zoroastrian names" site provided by its author:

The Avestan names all occur in the Avesta itself, and thus can be dated to around 1000 BCE or earlier. The Old Persian inscriptions are from around 500–600 BCE. The Parsi names are from Dosabhai Framji Karaka, History of the Parsis I, London 1884. pp. 162–3, and are names in use at that time. The Zoroastrian Irani names are from Farhang-e Behdinan, by Jamshid Sorush Sorushian, Tehran, 1956, and are names used in Kerman and Yazd at that time. You will find many of the names in current usage in the Pahlavi texts as well (ca. 9th ce CE), and in fact date to ancient times, e.g. Av. manush-chithra -> Pahl. Minochehr -> modern menucher. If you consider 9th ce[ntury] CE as medieval, I would suggest looking through the Pahlavi texts for more names.

Keshvar is included under the "Parsi names" and "Irani Zoroastrian names" lists on this site. Therefore, Keshvar is only documented to c. 1884 and c. 1956. Lacking documentation that it was used in period, it is not registerable.

al-Jamal summarizes the issues with the rest of the name:

Afsar is found, undated, in Ahmed (cited in the LoI). Even the example of Afsar-ud-Din is not dated, and since I do not find the name anywhere else, I can only at this time take it as a hypothetical usage. (When Ahmed has dates, he seems to be pretty reliable. When he doesn't, it's generally indicative of modern usage.) He also gives its origin as Persian, and combines it with the Arabic al-Din

Mah (not al-Mah) is found in Schimmel, also undated, also Persian. Not even Ahmed has it as a name element. It is certainly out of place with the Arabic article al- (the), and even if it were not, Afsar is claiming to be the Moon, not from there.

So neither Keshvar nor Afsar are dated to period as given names. The element Mah is not dated to period, and it is documented as Persian. When combined with the Arabic al-, the combination violates RfS III.1.a, which requires linguistic consistency within an element. If documentation were found for Mah as an Arabic element in period, it is not appropriate for use in the laqab al-Mah, since such a byname is in violation of RfS I.3, "No name or armory will be registered which claims for the submitter powers, status, or relationships that do not exist", since a human is not the Moon. All of these issues are reason for return and all would need to be addressed in order to register this name. [Keshvar bint Afsar al-Mah, 02/02, R-Atenveldt]

François la Flamme

2002.02

The byname al-Zahra is pronounced 'az-Zahra', but it is always written al-Zahra. However, this byname has only been documented as a byname referring to Fatima, the daughter of Muhammad. Lacking evidence that this byname is not unique to Fatima, it is a unique byname and is not registerable. [Zubaydah az-Zahra, 02/02, R-Meridies]

François la Flamme

2002.02

Mixing Arabic and English in a name is registerable, though it is a weirdness. [Tahir the Mad, 02/02, A-Atlantia]

Submitted as Faruk Abd AllRahman, the submitter allowed any changes. The documentation cited supports 'Abd al-Rahman as an masculine given name. No evidence was presented and none was found for names constructed only of two given names or of unmarked patronymics in Arabic. We have added the patronymic particle ibn and modified the spelling of the byname to match the submitted documentation in order to register the name. [Faruk ibn 'Abd al-Rahman, 12/01, A-Drachenwald]

François la Flamme

2001.10

Submitted as Diamiana bint al-Katib, no support was found for the spelling Diamiana. We have therefore changed it to a documented spelling.

The mix of a 4th C Coptic given name with an Arabic byname that could date from no earlier than the 7th C is a weirdness. [Damiana bint al-Katib, 10/01, A-Outlands]

François la Flamme

2001.10

This name is being returned for use of the laqab al-Din, which has been previously prohibited:

[returning Jaida Badr al-Din] We must return this name for violation of RfS VI.1 (Names Claiming Rank): laqabs of the form <noun> al-Din '<noun> of the Faith' were bestowed upon princes, statesmen, generals and high officers of state by the Caliph as titles and so constitute implicit claims to rank and station. (Talan Gwynek, LoAR February 1996, p. 10)

As the submitter did not allow major changes, we were unable to drop the problematic element. [Amani bint Jamal ibn Diya' al Din al-Sadig, 10/01, R-Outlands]

François la Flamme

2001.10

Submitted as Banujah al-Marrakeshi, al-Marrakeshi is the masculine form of this byname and cannot be used with a feminine given name. We have changed the byname to the feminine form. [Banujah al-Marrakeshiyyah, 10/01, A-Outlands]

François la Flamme

2001.09

This submission is being returned for improper construction of the byname. Al-Jamal summarizes the problem:

"Al-Badr is a laqaab based on the given name Badr." But laqabs are not created from given names. They are sometimes related to given names (Rashid and al-Rashid, for example) but the one does not necessarily lead to the other.

No documentation was provided, nor was any found that a byname meaning 'the moon' is a reasonable descriptive byname in Arabic. Were such documentation found, this byname would still need to change somewhat since laqabs must match in gender to the given name and al-Badr is masculine not feminine.

This name could have been registered as Rasha bint Badr using Badr as her father's given name. However, changing the byname from 'the moon' to 'daughter of [a man whose name happens to mean 'moon']' is a major change. Since the submitter did not allow major changes, we must return this submission. [Rasha al-Badr, 09/01, R-Caid]

François la Flamme

2001.09

Submitted as Rohe Khalila as-Sadafiyya, this name contained two given names in an Arabic name which has been cause for return in the past:

... none of the Arabic-speaking peoples seems to have used double given names, and this practice has been grounds for return in the past (Nasr Hasan ibn Muhammad Abdullaziz, Calontir, 11/93 LoAR). (Talan Gwynek, LoAR October 1995 p. 17)

Submitted as Rohe Khalila as-Sadafiyya ... The given name Rohe was documented as a hypothetical feminine name based on the masculine name Rohi. Not all Arabic masculine given names can be feminized. Without evidence that Rohe is a plausible Arabic feminine name in period, it is not registerable. [Khalila al-Sadafiyya, 09/01, A-Caid]

François la Flamme

2001.09

Khalila was documented as a word meaning 'female' from an Arabic-English dictionary. This documentation is not sufficient to register Khalila as a feminine given name. al-Jamal noted that Khalilah is the expected feminine form of the period male given name Khalil and found Khalilah included in the name of a period text. This is sufficient evidence to register Khalilah as a feminine given name. [Khalila al-Sadafiyya, 09/01, A-Caid]

François la Flamme

2001.09

The submitted byname as-Sadafiyyah was documented as a laqab from an Arabic-English dictionary. This documentation gives no indication of whether it is a plausible laqab in period. al-Jamal found the masculine form of this laqab al-Sadafi in period and gives the feminine form as al-Sadafiyyah. Depending upon which transliteration conventions you are using, the terminal 'h' is retained or not. Therefore, registerable forms of this name are Khalilah al-Sadafiyyah and Khalila al-Sadafiyya. The submitter allows major changes and her "primary interest is in the final name element, Sadafi". As such, we have have registered the form of the name which uses the form of the final name element closest to her submitted form. [Khalila al-Sadafiyya, 09/01, A-Caid]

Elsbeth Anne Roth

2001.06

Submitted on the LoI in this form, Cali seems to be a misreading of 'Ali. Even so, the documentation of this name had several problems, and while none of them would in itself be grounds for return, the combination is not registerable.

Using the kunya of one's father as a part of the name, such as Abi 'Ali here, seems to have been rare enough to be considered a weirdness, at least when followed by father's 'ism, in this case Mahmud.

Mahmud itself is a Turkish form of Muhammad, unattested in an Arabic context. While registerable as a part of an Arabic name it is also a weirdness.

Finally, al-Mufassir is essentially an occupational byname. As such it should normally appear either as the final element or right before the final element. Its position at the beginning of the name is a weirdness as well. [Al-Mufassir Ibrahim ibn Abi Cali Mahmud Al-Fatimi, 06/01, R-Ealdoremere]

Elsbeth Anne Roth

2000.10

Unfortunately, not only is there no documentation for Yasamin, the only documentation for the more common form Yasmin is post-period. [Yasamin al-Hadiyya, 10/00, R-Middle]

Elsbeth Anne Roth

2000.08

Submitted as Sabah ibn Qadir al Tar, there was a problem with the byname al Tar. To quote al-Jamal,

Tar, on the other hand, is more problematical. First, "the string" does not follow the pattern of "inanimate objects used as descriptive epithets" cited. These included "the rose", "the raisin", and "the onion". All these are plants or plant parts. The string does not even come close. Second, tar in Arabic is "revenge" or "to fly" (Jaschke's English-Arabic Conversational Dictionary, p. 365). "String" in Persian is risman (Lambton's Persian Vocabulary, p. 367). [Sabah ibn Qadir, 08/00, A-Meridies]

Elsbeth Anne Roth

2000.07

The byname as submitted has serious problems. Nur appears to be a modern given name (in use, for instance, by the current Queen Mother of Jordan), but we could not find evidence of its use as a period byname. Also, Salahuddin Ahmed's A Dictionary of Muslim Names, notes that al-Noor 'the Light' is one of the names of Allah, so the name appears to be presumptuous as well. [Naadira an-Noor, 07/00, R-Meridies]

Elsbeth Anne Roth

2000.06

The standard transliteration for a byname of an Arab man from Seville would be al-Ishbili; a transliteration using x seems odd. Moreover, al-Ixbily has an i and a y for the same sound. This kind of mixing transliteration systems within a single name has been grounds for a return in the past. [Tahira bint Ibrahim al-Ixbily, 06/00, R-East]

Elsbeth Anne Roth

2000.02

Both 'Inan and Nihlah are Arabic feminine given names, but there is no evidence that Arabic names were formed of two given names. As they did not use metronymics we could not fix this by making the second name a metronymic. ['Inan Nihlah, 02/00, R-Atenveldt]

Elsbeth Anne Roth

1999.11

Submitted as Ghazelleh al-Badriyyah, valid transliterations of the name lack the double "l" and either have all "e"s or all "a"s. [Ghazalah al-Badriyyah, 11/99, A-East]

Elsbeth Anne Roth

1999.08

No evidence was presented that Jasmina was a reasonable transliteration of Yasmin. [Jasmina Salazar, 08/99, R-East]

Jaelle of Armida

1998.08

[al-Azar Lucero] Submitted as Azir Lucero, every other source which had the name, had al-Azar, and not Azir, and the submitter's documentation had both. Therefore, we have changed it to the more likely form. (Jaelle of Armida, LoAR August 1998)

Jaelle of Armida

1998.05

[Mahliqa bint Ali] The only documentation for Zibec came from Arabian Nights. According to al-Jamal, "One must be extremely careful in using any version of Alf Layla wa Layla (The Thousand Nights and One Night) as documentation for names. Many, many names in the Nights are (1) not of mere mortals, and/or (2) allegorical rather than "real" names. Additionally, the stories, while most of them are period, originate from a number of different places. In other words, not all of them are Arabic; there are Persian, Turkish, and Indian stories. As a consequence, not all of the names in them are Arabic, either, but Persian, Turkish, Indian, etc. These other languages have different ways of constructing names than does Arabic. So just because a name is found in this particular work does not mean that it is a real name or that it is constructed properly or that it may be incorporated into an otherwise Arabic name. " Since no documentation could be found for Zibec as a given or byname, we have dropped it. (Jaelle of Armida, LoAR May 1998, p. 7)

Jaelle of Armida

1997.08

Note: the grandfather clause would allow her to register Safia Baktar, but the addition of the Umm Sulianman required a more authentic Arabic structure. (Jaelle of Armida, LoAR August 1997, p. 4)

Jaelle of Armida

1997.02

Submitted as T_riq Yaz_d, both elements of this name are isms, or given names. Period Arabic cultures did not do this, and the usage has been grounds for return in the past (Nasr Hasan ibn Muhammad Abdullaziz, Calontir, 11/93 LoAR). We have added ibn, making him the son of Yazîd: Târiq ibn Yazîd. (Jaelle of Armida, LoAR February 1997, p. 16)

Jaelle of Armida

1996.10

[returning the group name Tanweeristan] Tanweer is not a tribal name, so there is no reason to think that it can be combined with -(I)stan. (Canton of Tanweeristan, 10/96 p. 9)

Da'ud ibn Auda (2nd tenure, 2nd year)

1996.05

[Sadira bint Raya al-Asiri] it still does not appear that metronymics based on personal names were used in Arabic-speaking cultures. Laurel has found just one example (apart from the inherently exceptional 'Isa ibn Maryam 'Jesus son of Mary'), and Ensign has one example of a metronymic apparently based on the mother's occupational byname. This latter discovery indicates the desirability of further research, but for now the overwhelming weight of cultural and onomastic evidence argues against overturning the precedents against registering Arabic metronymics. (Talan Gwynek, LoAR May 1996, p. 24)

Da'ud ibn Auda (2nd tenure, 2nd year)

1996.02

[returning Jaida Badr al-Din] We must return this name for violation of RfS VI.1 (Names Claiming Rank): laqabs of the form <noun> al-Din '<noun> of the Faith' were bestowed upon princes, statesmen, generals and high officers of state by the Caliph as titles and so constitute implicit claims to rank and station. Laurel further notes that he has not seen a laqab for a woman formed from the element al-Din. (Talan Gwynek, LoAR February 1996, p. 10)

Da'ud ibn Auda (2nd tenure, 2nd year)

1996.01

[registering Abu Isma'il Ibrahim 'Abdu'llah al Gharnatawayyi] The construction of the name is a bit questionable: Ibrahim and 'Abdu'llah are both given names, and Arabic does not seem to have used double given names. It seems possible, however, that 'Abdu'llah, literally `servant of Allah', can function here as an epithet. We do not know whether epithets of this type were used, but the idea is plausible enough to justify giving the name the benefit of the doubt. (Abu Isma'il Ibrahim 'Abdu'llah al Gharnatawayyi, 1/96 p. 1)

Da'ud ibn Auda (2nd tenure, 2nd year)

1995.12

[Umm Yaasmeen Sahar]] The kunya (honorific) Umm Yaasmeen `mother of Yaasmeen' is in effect an `upside-down metronymic'; and just as metronymics do not seem to have been part of Arabic naming practice, no one has found a kunya based on a feminine name. We have previously returned Arabic names for incorporating metronymics (e.g., Raym 'Inan bint Rabi'ah, Atenveldt, 8/95 LoAR, and Aliyah bint Leyla, Middle, 4/94 LoAR); given the equal lack of evidence for the reciprocal practice and its equal implausibility in the male-oriented Arab culture, consistency requires that we return this name as well. (Talan Gwynek, LoAR December 1995, p. 23)

Da'ud ibn Auda (2nd tenure, 2nd year)

1995.10

[Ja'mala Junaida al-Badawi] Unfortunately, none of the Arabic-speaking peoples seems to have used double given names, and this practice has been grounds for return in the past (Nasr Hasan ibn Muhammad Abdullaziz, Calontir, 11/93 LoAR). (Talan Gwynek, LoAR October 1995, p. 18)

Da'ud ibn Auda (2nd tenure, 2nd year)

1995.08

[Raym 'Inan bint Rabi'ah] Unfortunately, Rabi'ah is feminine, and the use of metronymics does not appear to be part of Arabic naming practice. Neither does the use of two given names; both practices have been grounds for return in the past (Aliyah bint Leyla, Middle, 4/94 LoAR; Nasr Hasan ibn Muhammad Abdullaziz, Calontir, 11/93 LoAR). We recommend that she drop one of the given names and replace Rabi'ah with a masculine name. (Talan Gwynek, LoAR August 1995, p. 19)

Da'ud ibn Auda (2nd tenure, 2nd year)

1995.08

[returning Arslan Sanjarzade Yildirim-Kilij] We are returning this name for further documentation. On the basis of the available information, Arslan Sanjarzade appears to be modern, Western-style Turkish name constructed from period elements; Schimmel, Islamic Names, p. 80, says, however, that the family name preceded the given name in those few families that had family names before this century. The submitter's documentation shows some period examples of names compounded from what are either simpler names or a combination of a nickname and a name, but there is no documentation for compound nicknames, nor is there evidence to show where in a period Turkish name a nickname should be placed. (Talan Gwynek, LoAR August 1995, p. 21)

Da'ud ibn Auda (2nd tenure, 2nd year)

1995.08

[returning the epithet al-Zaa'ir] Zaa'ir was documented as a name but not as a word, so it is not clear that al-Zaa'ir is an acceptable byname. (Tadg in Sinnach, 8/95 p. 20)

Da'ud ibn Auda (2nd tenure, 2nd year)

1995.02

[Eric Ibrahim Mozarab] No documentation has been found for combined Norse-English/Arabic names. (Da'ud ibn Auda, LoAR February 1995, p. 14)

Da'ud ibn Auda (2nd tenure, 2nd year)

1995.01

Turkish does not appear to have used the Arabic bint in patronymic formations. [The name was returned.] (Atesh al- Nasmeh bint Omer, 1/95 p. 12)

Da'ud ibn Auda (2nd tenure, 2nd year)

1994.11

[returning the byname al-Hilal] Hilal is a given name which does not appear to have been used with the article al-. Nor does "the Crescent" appear to follow the pattern of Arabic bynames with which we are familiar. (Rashid al-Hilal, 11/94 p. 16)

Da'ud ibn Auda (2nd tenure, 2nd year)

1994.10

No documentation was presented that the [Arabic] "byname" could be used with the article, and all of the documentation either submitted or found later by the commenters (and Laurel) showed only Nawaar without the article. (The equivalent in English would be analogous to documenting "Robert" and "James" as given names and submitting "Robert the James".) (Da'ud ibn Auda, LoAR October 1994, p. 18

Da'ud ibn Auda (2nd tenure, 2nd year)

1994.09

Submitted as Domingo Muhammad Marín de León, even in Spain the combination is extremely unlikely. All of the evidence we have suggests that either Domingo ibn Muhammad (a reasonable patronymic formation for a first-generation Christian Mudejar) or Domingo Marín de León (appropriate for Spanish Christians) are the two strongest possibilities. We have therefore made the smallest change possible and dropped the intrusive Islamic element to register the name. (Da'ud ibn Auda, LoAR September 1994, pp. 5-6)

Da'ud ibn Auda

1994.08

al-Din appears always to be used as part of a title in period (in the submitter's documentation, Kamal al-Din, Sharaf al-Din, and Jalal al-Din). [al-Din is usually translated as "of the Religion" or "of the Faith".] (Da'ud ibn Auda, LoAR August 1994, p. 18)

Da'ud ibn Auda (2nd tenure, 1st year)

1994.05

[Returning Krista al Kamil.] The example of combined Arabic/Spanish names is not sufficient support for combined Swiss/Arabic names. (The submitter seemed to be confusing the Swedes and the Swiss in her documentation. Caches of Arab silver coins have been found in Scandinavia, not Switzerland. And the presence of Arabic silver coins in Sweden is only evidence that the trade routes extended that far, not that the people at the two ends of those trade routes had any direct dealings with each other.) [5/94, p.22]

Da'ud ibn Auda (2nd tenure, 1st year)

1994.04

[Returning _liyah bint Leyl_.] The Arabs do not seem to have used matronymic formations (which this is) in their names, either in period or since. Of only two instances in history which Laurel has found in his researches, one was 'Isa ibn Maryam (Jesus the son of Mary), which was clearly a special case. [4/94, p.19]

Da'ud ibn Auda (2nd tenure, 1st year)

1994.02

[T]he name was not constructed according to any known period pattern. Arabic names were not formed by stringing given names together. [2/94, p.13]

Da'ud ibn Auda (2nd tenure, 1st year)

1994.02

The submitters have not demonstrated a practice of placenames derived from laqabs, nor could any of the commenters lend support to this formation. Neither does the cited example of Cairo (al-Qáhirah, "the Victorious") support this name. Originally called al-Mansúriyyah, it later became al-Qáhirah al-Mu'izziyyah, "the victorious [city] of [the Fatimid Caliph] Mu'izz [li-Dín alláh]", similar to the fashion by which "The City of Our Lady the Queen of the Angels" (el pueblo de nuestra señora la reina de los angeles) became Los Angeles. [2/94, p.19]

Da'ud ibn Auda (2nd tenure, 1st year)

1993.12a

None of the Arabic-speaking peoples appear to have formed names using a double given name. [12a/93, p.21]

Bruce Draconarius of Mistholme

1993.09

While we have evidence of Arabic/Italian interaction in period, Persian/Italian interaction has yet to be demonstrated. (Beatrice Carmela Mercante, September, 1993, pg. 6)

Bruce Draconarius of Mistholme

1992.10

The byname was submitted as al-Aziz, "the Powerful", which is one of the 99 names of Allah. So far as we can tell, this would not have been used, unmodified, in a period Arabic name. The submitter's own documentation showed the name 'Abd al-Aziz, "servant of the Powerful", which we have substituted. (Ali ibn Ibrahim 'Abd al-Aziz, October, 1992, pg. 18)

"Submitted as <given name> bint-Aamir, we have deleted the obtrusive hyphen. Aamir (pronounced AH-mir) is not the same as the restricted alternate title Amir (pronounced ah-Meer)." (LoAR 12/90 p.5).

Da'ud ibn Auda (1st year of 1st tenure)

1990.12

[the epithet al-Bodmani, an Arabic-style locative formed from a British town] "I can do little better than to quote Mistress Alisoun...'...the fact that the structure is compatible with Arabic naming practise makes the name admissible'. That the locative is extremely unlikely...does not make it unregisterable. It is formed in a manner consistent with Arabic practice." (LoAR 12/90 p.3).

Da'ud ibn Auda (1st year of 1st tenure)

1990.10

"Shala is a reasonable transliteration of the Arabic name often transliterated as Shahlaa." (LoAR 10/90 p.16).

Da'ud ibn Auda (1st year of 1st tenure)

1990.10

"The use of a matronymic in Arabic [was not] documented. (Laurel believes that the two instances he could find, that of 'Isa ibn Maryam {Jesus the son of Mary, clearly a unique case} and one other instance noted in The Fihrist of al-Nadim do not establish a pattern of general usage. We would prefer to see more examples before allowing this exception to the rule of the use of patronymics in Arabic)." [The name was returned for this reason and for the non-documentability of a byname] (LoAR 10/90 p.16).

Da'ud ibn Auda (1st year of 1st tenure)

1990.10

[Returning Shala bint Samia Shashati] While Shala is a reasonable transliteration of the Arabic name often transliterated as Shahlaa, and while Samia could be considered as an acceptable alternative to the name Samihah, no evidence was presented to support Shashati, nor was the use of a matronymic in Arabic documented. (LoAR 10/90 p.16).

Da'ud ibn Auda (1st year of 1st tenure)

1990.09

"Although some evidence was submitted that Maleah may be a modern Arabic name, its existence as a word in Hebrew prevents its being considered a made-up name, and no other evidence was presented that it is either a period Arabic name or that it follows the rules for constructing names in Arabic." [the name Maleah was dropped from the registered name] (LoAR 9/90 p.3).